Fresh Berries and Kettle Chips

Want the first scoop??

Can you tell we went the easy route when it came to side dishes for our picnic baby shower? And why not? We didn't sacrifice flavor or visual appeal in the least, and the ladies were so appreciative that they could eat their little bellies full out without regret.

Shauna must have a berry patch hiding behind her townhome, because these strawberries, raspberries and blueberries that she brought were perfection. I could have gone to bed snuggling the leftovers.

So far you have the Wedge Vine Tomato & Avocado Salad and fresh berries to accompany the Cashew-Chicken Rotini Salad . The third side dish is the easiest of all: kettle chips! I couldn't resist. Salty, crunchy, and unpretentious. The menu needed some crispiness to go along with the other softer textures, wouldn't you agree? Normally I'd say that a basic potato chip would be tacky at a shower, however, in this case it seemed to fit the casual picnic vibe we were going for. Besides, don't you worry; we got the yummy, quality, thick ones.

Click here for the full Picnic Lunch Menu!

Gotta love the lush green of Northern Virginia.

Wedge Vine Tomato & Avocado Salad, and Choosing the Best Produce

Some of the best food is the food you leave the heck alone. Well, you eat it, so I guess in that way you're not leaving it alone at all. I just mean that if you choose your ingredients with an eye for freshness, there's often very little else you need to do to bring out their best. One of my favorite examples of this is my Wedge Vine Tomato & Avocado Salad.

This salad depends almost entirely on choosing your produce wisely. Here are some tips for getting the right tomatoes and avocados into your shopping basket as well as how to prepare them for serving.

1. Shop the day before you plan on serving.  You're going to need to give your avocados a night to ripen.
2. Buy avocados that are barely soft to the touch. Doing the best you can to keep them from touching (because they'll bruise) put them in paper bags overnight to help them completely ripen.
3. Choose tomatoes that are still on the vine, firm (but not hard), nice and red, and have a good, strong garden smell. You don't need to refrigerate them. Even though refrigeration will extend the life of your tomato once it has started to become overripe, there's no sense refrigerating them before that point as it messes with the flavor in a big way. But keep them out of the sun!
4. Slicing the tomatoes, and especially the avocados, is one of the last things you'll want to do before your guests arrive. Slicing the avocado too soon will result in an unappealing brown color. 
5. Finally, if you're serving these outdoors, for example as part of the Picnic Lunch Menu, you'll want to wait until you get to the picnic site before cutting the avocados. Otherwise, you risk them being brown and mashed.

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Wedge Tomato & Avocado Salad

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

6 medium vine tomatoes

4 avocados

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Slice each tomato and each avocado into six even wedges. Arrange face-up on a serving tray or in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt & freshly ground pepper and serve. Doesn't get much easier than that, kids!

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Picnic Lunch Menu: Cashew-Chicken Rotini Salad

When I have a picnic, I want foods that mimic the moods the outdoors inspire: simplicity, freshness, lightness, and vibrancy. There should be a healthy dose of unadulterated, natural foods as if you could be eating what you just picked from a nearby garden. Don't you think?? Nobody wants to leave a picnic feeling weighed down, just pleasantly satisfied.

I mentioned that my friend, Shauna, and I served this for a casual baby shower, but this could just as appropriately be served for any kind of outdoor (or indoor) social gathering this Summer. We received so many compliments from our guests and many of them thanked us for not serving heavy foods. You betcha, ladies!

The Menu:
Main Dish: Cashew-Chicken Rotini Salad
Side Dishes: Wedge Vine Tomato and Avocado Salad, Fresh Berries, Kettle Chips
Beverage: Lemon & Mint Ice Water
Dessert: Caramel Apple Kits

The Cashew-Chicken Rotini Salad is a recipe that my mother found from Taste of Home and made for me while she was visiting after Kate's arrival last year. I pretty much never, ever, ever cook using prepared foods like ranch dressing, but almost everything else on the menu is so light and fresh, and the pasta is so delicious that I made an exception. With just a few adaptations, here's the recipe!

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Cashew-Chicken Rotini Salad from Taste of Home
Prep Time: 30 Min
Chill Time: 1 hour
Serves 12

Ingredients:
1 package (16 ounces) spiral or rotini pasta
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1-1/2 cups sliced celery
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup seedless red grapes
1 cup seedless green grapes (I used 2 cups of only red grapes to make my life easier, but having both does add a little extra variety to the dish.)
1 package (5 ounces) dried cranberries
1 cup ranch salad dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 cups salted cashews

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, onions, grapes and cranberries. Drain pasta and rinse in cold water; stir into chicken mixture.
In a small bowl, whisk the ranch dressing and mayonnaise. Pour desired amount over salad and toss to coat. (The original recipe calls for all of the dressing/mayo combo, but I thought it was overkill. Adjust it to suit your individual preference!) Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, stir in cashews. Stirring in the cashews any earlier will make them lose their texture. If you think you'll end up with leftovers, you may want to serve the cashews in a separate dish.

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And a big "CONGRATULATIONS" to the expectant mother of the baby shower who welcomed baby Alison into the world on Monday! I got to visit her just 6 or 7 hours after she was born and she is one of the most beautiful newborns I've ever seen. We love you already, baby girl!